The main character of A Girl of the Limberlost is Elnora Comstock. Elnora is a fascinating girl that has different goals in life then most. She lives near a swamp called the Limberlost in Indiana. Elnora is a pretty girl in her teenage years. Her beauty is not seen in the beginning due to her mother's lack of money. She has to wear old calico clothes to high school, which causes other students to make fun of her. Once she gets a job she pays for the same stuff other people use. It is then possible to see her breathtaking beauty. She has brown hair, but when the light shines on it it glows a radiant red tint. Her beauty is above others not only in physical appearance, but her mental aspects.
Elnora's family consists only of her and her mother. Her father died around the time when she was born. Her mother blames Elnora for his death, even though he died by getting sucked into a swamp pool. They live alone in their little house outside of Onabasha and near the Limberlost swamp. They are close friends with the Sinton family. They consider her a daughter. The Sintons buy Elnora clothing and other things like a lunch box out of pure love. She doesn't accept them until she can pay for them though. When Elnora starts going to school she runs into a few children with an alcoholic dad that dies. The Sintons take Billy, one of the children, to live with them. Elnora considers him a little brother.
Elnora gets a job with a woman called the Bird Woman. The Bird Woman collects different types of insect and plant life. Her main collections are of moths and butterflies. Elnora collects many a species while living near the Limberlost. Elnora, seeing the sign from the Bird Woman saying she will pay for samples, acts immediately. "I must try to discover some way to earn those books," says Elnora because to continue at Onabasha High School she had to pay her own book fees. The Bird Woman comes to see Elnora's diverse collection of moths, butterflies, and even Indian relics. The Indian relics Elnora sells to a collector in Onabasha, not to the Bird Woman. Once Elnora was paid for the moths, she could use that money to pay for her clothing and other necessities. The money she gets puts her through high school and even college in the end.
Elnora changes greatly during the time in this book. She starts out as a young girl living with a very unloving mother. Elnora has to do everything on her own, so she grows to be very independent and learns many life lessons other children do not. She makes her own money to support herself through her whole life. Elnora starts going to school and gets a great education. Once she gets her new clothes to fit into the high school she gets many new friends. She loves having friends to hang out with and that care for each other.
After years a change happens in her mother. The Sintons finally tell how Ms.Comstock's husband was cheating on her and he died sneaking back home. She finally lets go and starts treating Elnora right. They get along extremely well and Elnora gets used to her improved mother. Elnora's astonishing beauty attracts a man to her. He falls madly in love with her even though he has a fiancé. Elnora knows she cannot interfere, so she does not interact with him in any more then a friendly manner. Once Phillip ends it with his fiancé and Elnora knows he no longer loves her, or his fiancé love him, she decides to let them marry. Elnora says to Phillip's fiancé "I did not promise to marry him when an hour ago he asked me, and offered me this ring, because there was so much feeling in my heart for you, that I knew I never could be happy, if I felt that in any way I had failed in doing justice to your interests," to make sure she knew that Elnora cared about her feelings as well as her own.
The main character of A Girl of the Limberlost is Elnora Comstock. Elnora is a fascinating girl that has different goals in life then most. She lives near a swamp called the Limberlost in Indiana. Elnora is a pretty girl in her teenage years. Her beauty is not seen in the beginning due to her mother's lack of money. She has to wear old calico clothes to high school, which causes other students to make fun of her. Once she gets a job she pays for the same stuff other people use. It is then possible to see her breathtaking beauty. She has brown hair, but when the light shines on it it glows a radiant red tint. Her beauty is above others not only in physical appearance, but her mental aspects.
Elnora's family consists only of her and her mother. Her father died around the time when she was born. Her mother blames Elnora for his death, even though he died by getting sucked into a swamp pool. They live alone in their little house outside of Onabasha and near the Limberlost swamp. They are close friends with the Sinton family. They consider her a daughter. The Sintons buy Elnora clothing and other things like a lunch box out of pure love. She doesn't accept them until she can pay for them though. When Elnora starts going to school she runs into a few children with an alcoholic dad that dies. The Sintons take Billy, one of the children, to live with them. Elnora considers him a little brother.
Elnora gets a job with a woman called the Bird Woman. The Bird Woman collects different types of insect and plant life. Her main collections are of moths and butterflies. Elnora collects many a species while living near the Limberlost. Elnora, seeing the sign from the Bird Woman saying she will pay for samples, acts immediately. "I must try to discover some way to earn those books," says Elnora because to continue at Onabasha High School she had to pay her own book fees. The Bird Woman comes to see Elnora's diverse collection of moths, butterflies, and even Indian relics. The Indian relics Elnora sells to a collector in Onabasha, not to the Bird Woman. Once Elnora was paid for the moths, she could use that money to pay for her clothing and other necessities. The money she gets puts her through high school and even college in the end.
Elnora changes greatly during the time in this book. She starts out as a young girl living with a very unloving mother. Elnora has to do everything on her own, so she grows to be very independent and learns many life lessons other children do not. She makes her own money to support herself through her whole life. Elnora starts going to school and gets a great education. Once she gets her new clothes to fit into the high school she gets many new friends. She loves having friends to hang out with and that care for each other.
After years a change happens in her mother. The Sintons finally tell how Ms.Comstock's husband was cheating on her and he died sneaking back home. She finally lets go and starts treating Elnora right. They get along extremely well and Elnora gets used to her improved mother. Elnora's astonishing beauty attracts a man to her. He falls madly in love with her even though he has a fiancé. Elnora knows she cannot interfere, so she does not interact with him in any more then a friendly manner. Once Phillip ends it with his fiancé and Elnora knows he no longer loves her, or his fiancé love him, she decides to let them marry. Elnora says to Phillip's fiancé "I did not promise to marry him when an hour ago he asked me, and offered me this ring, because there was so much feeling in my heart for you, that I knew I never could be happy, if I felt that in any way I had failed in doing justice to your interests," to make sure she knew that Elnora cared about her feelings as well as her own.